Beaver Coexistence and Relocation Project Manager or Senior Project Manager

Description

Trout Unlimited (TU) brings together diverse interests to care for and recover the rivers and streams on which we all depend. We are a national organization with 300,000 members and supporters organized into over 400 chapters and councils nationwide. Our dedicated grassroots volunteers are matched by a respected staff of organizers, lawyers, policy experts, and scientists, who work out of more than 25 offices across the country.

The Wenatchee-Entiat Beaver Project was established in 2018 to provide technical assistance, education, and support to the communities of Washington’s Chelan and Douglas counties to help resolve human-beaver conflicts through coexistence and relocation. In addition to partnering with numerous federal, state, local, NGO, and private groups, we “partner” with beavers to harness their restorative potential by relocating them to vital streams so that they can enhance aquatic habitat and adjacent floodplain while providing habitat for a host of fish, wildlife, and plant species, including threatened and endangered salmonids. Learning from beavers, the project applies beaver-mimicking restoration to degraded streams through low-tech process-based restoration, or LTPBR. We install structures such as beaver dam analogs and post-assisted log structures to kickstart natural processes to allow streams to heal themselves. We have become a leader in installing low-tech process-based restoration projects throughout these same geographies. 

In addition to the Beaver Project’s stream restoration and beaver relocation/coexistence efforts, we provide outreach, education, and volunteer opportunities for the local community, research opportunities for graduate students, and engage with LTPBR practitioners and the Washington Beaver Working Group statewide coalition. The beaver/dam analog habitat project manager joins a team of 17 TU staffers in Washington state including seven in Eastern Washington. 

Position Summary

TU seeks to hire a self-motivated and highly capable person to manage beaver relocation and coexistence and assist with stream restoration projects for the benefit of ecosystems, communities, and native wild fish populations in Upper Columbia Basin watersheds in Washington State. Depending on experience, the position may be titled Project Coordinator, Project Manager, or Senior Project Manager. 

The Beaver Coexistence and Relocation (BCR) Specialist will work closely with the Beaver Restoration Specialist and Restoration Program Director to implement TU’s beaver-based restoration program in the Upper Columbia watershed. A successful candidate will be self-motivated, well organized, and capable of completing assigned duties safely and efficiently, conducting work professionally as a public representative of TU, and working well with a team having diverse backgrounds and personalities. The primary duty stations will be the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery in Leavenworth, WA and the TU office in Wenatchee, WA.  

Competitive candidates for this position will need to demonstrate strong organizational and project management skills and technical abilities related to public communication and problem solving, animal handling, ecology, grant writing and management and partnership-building.. The successful applicant will be expected to earn and maintain a WDFW Beaver Relocation permit, field communications from landowners and managers, conduct site assessments, and work to facilitate coexistence with beavers. 

The successful applicant will also manage seasonal operations of the beaver trapping and relocation program and complete necessary communication and reporting to WDFW. The BCR Specialist manages projects and works with TU staff and partners to secure additional funding for project activities, conceptualize and develop new projects, and functions as part of the team, assisting other staff as necessary. The BCR project manager works collaboratively with the Beaver Restoration Specialist to manage and implement stream habitat restoration projects throughout Central Washington. 

Duties And Responsibilities

• Conduct outreach and meet with community members and land managers managing conflicts with beavers and strategize coexistence and relocation opportunities.      
• Obtain required permits, coordinate with partners, and implement coexistence measures. 
• Implement conflict beaver coexistence and relocation work including tree caging, culvert protector and pond leveler construction, beaver live trapping, handling, processing and husbandry of captive beavers, hatchery maintenance, beaver release, site assessments, and post release site monitoring.
• Preparation, maintenance, and cleaning of acclimation facility and equipment.
• Foster and maintain positive relationships with landowners and managers, tribes, state and federal agencies and other partners with varying political and social backgrounds.
• Work with the Beaver Restoration Specialist to manage the beaver trapping and relocation program and seasonal crew schedule.
• Assist with leading Wenatchee-Entiat Beaver Project’s low-tech process-based stream restoration and beaver coexistence, trapping, and relocation projects in North Central Washington.
• Maintain the beaver acclimation facility in compliance with Washington State regulations
• Attend, participate, and represent TU in meetings with project partners including community members and state, federal, and local agencies and organizations.
• Work with the Restoration Program Manager to identify and apply for funding opportunities
• Monitor coexistence project effectiveness and develop maintenance schedules.
• Participate in public education, interpretation, and outreach opportunities. 
• This is a non-supervisory position although the selected candidate will manage day-to-day activities of seasonal staff, make field decisions, and be the primary reporting contact for the Restoration Program Director. 
• Support / manage the beaver trapping and relocation program
• Communicate with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure program compliance with beaver relocation regulations
• In coordination with Restoration Program Director, identify funding sources, prepare grant proposals and reports, manage budgets, and secure funding for instream flow and habitat restoration projects as well as beaver coexistence and relocation.
• Depending the role level, this position may requires grant and budget management responsibilities. 
• Obtain required permits, coordinate with partners, and implement coexistence measures. 
• Implement conflict beaver coexistence and relocation work including tree caging, culvert protector and pond leveler construction, beaver live trapping, handling, processing and husbandry of captive beavers, hatchery maintenance, beaver release, site assessments, and post release site monitoring.
• Preparation, maintenance, and cleaning of acclimation facility and equipment.

The primary work schedule will be Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, but will vary depending on program activities and will occasionally include weekends. Beaver trapping will require an early morning and evening schedule. Overnight travel will be infrequent but may be required for training or work purposes. 

This is not an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities. 

Requirements

  Below requirements may be adjusted pending the level of position hired:

• 3-7 years relevant work experience and a college degree in fisheries, wildlife, biology, natural resources, or similar field. 
• Experience trapping, handling, and/or processing wildlife, particularly mammals.
• Superior interpersonal skills, comfort with public speaking and meeting facilitation, and ability to work constructively with a wide range of partners, personalities, and resource professionals.   
• Understanding of restoration project construction and management, engineering design concepts, data analysis and management.
• Experience with project permitting for aquatic restoration projects and in-water work.
• Knowledge of low-tech process-based restoration principles, methods, and practices.
• Experience with project development, implementation, and management including projects that involve development, partner coordination, securing funding, managing budgets, and reporting.
• Capable of simultaneously managing multiple complex projects with multiple funding agreements, including strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including developed grant and technical writing skills, as well as data      collection/analysis and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated experience indicating ability to prioritize workload, to think quickly and creatively in response to unanticipated challenges, to be highly motivated and self-directed, and possess advanced organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and ESRI ArcGIS.
• Experience using GPS and mapping tools to navigate and develop project sites, and comfort working long hours in remote      settings and under difficult conditions.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs and experience with hand tools and power equipment.
• Must have a valid driver’s license.